Head coach Ron Horvat is happy with the Chatham Maroons' progress in the past few days.

They remain winless in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League exhibition season after losing 3-2 in St. Thomas on Wednesday, but Horvat said they're making strides.

“It was a big improvement,” he said. “They (the Stars) scored late, but we were doing a lot of good things tonight. We were right in the game all night.”

Noah Bushnell made his pre-season debut for the Maroons and opened the scoring early in the first period for a 1-0 lead at the St. Thomas Timken Rink.

After the Stars scored twice in the second period, Cameron Welch scored a tying goal for the Maroons at 6:10 of the third period.

Jake Desando of the Stars potted the winner with 3:47 left, dropping the Maroons' pre-season record to 0-3 with one game left.

They'll end the pre-season next Tuesday against the Sarnia Legionnaires at Memorial Arena.

The Maroons lost to the Stars 8-2 in their opening game last Sunday.

“I've seen a big improvement since Game 1,” Horvat said.

Nolan Hakr and Kyle Droge split the Maroons' goaltending, just as they did Tuesday in a 4-1 loss in Sarnia.

Hakr played the first half and stopped 12 of 14 shots. Droge was the losing goalie despite stopping 16 of 17 shots.

The Maroons have committed to Droge, who played last season for the Muskoka Wild in the Canadian Premier Junior Hockey League.

“He's a very athletic goalie and really willing to learn that position to get better,” Horvat said.

The Maroons also acquired the rights to 17-year-old goalie Cameron Lamour on Wednesday from the Rayside Balfour Canadians of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League.

The Canadians announced the trade on Twitter.

Lamour had a 7-13-1-1 record, 3.57 goals-against average and .888 save percentage last season as a Canadians rookie. He also had a 2.21 GAA in four games with the Saginaw Spirit, who chose him in the third round of the 2016 OHL draft.

Horvat said the Maroons are still waiting to see if last year's No. 1 goalie, Brendan Johnston, is available due to work commitments.

Veteran forward Nolan VandenBoorn hasn't played in the pre-season. The team is also waiting to learn if he can make the time commitment necessary for junior 'B' hockey, Horvat said.

The Maroons signed five more players recently: defenceman Keegan MacVoy and forwards Thomas Michaud, Chase Henry, Noah Labonte and Seth Henderson. Labonte was slated to play for the Wallaceburg Lakers, while the other four were expected to be Blenheim Blades.